James McKeefry is just like Mick & Lester from Folkwaves. He is very professional and gives the same outstanding service to fringe music.

So much has been said on the Folkwaves thread and thsi is exactly the same situation.

I don't know how many people listen to Celtic Fringe, but just like Folkwaves, should not be able to die.

Just to remind you

Clause 5.3 of the BBC local radio remit under the BBC Local Radio Service Licence as published by the BBC Trust issued 27 March 2009 viz:

5.3 Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence: BBC Local Radio should contribute to this purpose amongst its audience. It should provide ...opportunities for new and emerging musicians from the local area and support local arts and music events by providing event information. Music output should be mainstream in peaktime and include specialist in off-peak hours. Specialist music should be appropriate to the area. Current and recent chart hits should represent no more than 15% of weekly music output."

First Folkwaves and then Celtic Fringe. Is this the BBC starting to chop all minority interest progs in order to save money? Hope not.

I was a victim of something similar in the early 90s when Commercial Radio did much the same and my prog (which had run for 10 years)was chopped, along with most of the other niche genres. Now that station is an homogenised clone of all the others.

I thought the BBC was supposed to be 'public service broadcasting'? That now seems to be what they perceive as the 'majority' of the public, and not all the various minorities (which together of course make up a substantial body of listeners).

BBC Local Radio should contribute to this purpose amongst its audience. It should provide opportunities for new and emerging musicians from the local area and support local arts and music events by providing event information.

Music output should be mainstream in peaktime and include specialist in off-peak hours. Specialist music should be appropriate to the area. Current and recent chart hits should represent no more than 15% of weekly music output.

BBC Local Radio stations should take advantage of their structure ? small teams and no formal commissioning structure - to act as a test bed for new production ideas and ways of working, and for developing new talent.

Hi I've only just caught up with what is happening up in the Midlands, there is a lot of rather unwelcome stuff going on in BBC local Radio at the moment, if anyone feels strongly please join the new forum for BBC LR listeners. It's independent of the supposedly independent BBC you can find it at www.bbclocalradioforum.co.uk

To Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC and Michael Lyons, Chair of the BBC Trust,

The following is taken from this article http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.6489

This is extremely worrying news for anyone who values their BBC Local Radio station for what it is and what it should be. This may be the thin end of a large wedge, once the localness of a station is lost, the chances of reclaiming it will shrink. We know the BBC is under pressure to make cuts but historically BBC LR has alway been bottom of the food chain when it comes to funding. Is it right that some of the first cuts be made here?

Quote " Five BBC local radio stations are to try out sharing programmes on weekday afternoons, ahead of a longer-term plan to have regional shows in daytime.

In an email to staff in the English Regions, controller David Holdsworth announced that three stations in Yorkshire and three in the South East would be the first to pilot the idea of networking between neighbouring stations.

David told staff: "When the BBC published its strategy review in the spring we said that our main aim was to strengthen content and journalism at breakfast and mid-mornings by spending more on those programmes. This was a key recommendation of the Local Radio task force which Editors were involved in. We have made good progress but resources are finite and we are looking at the impact of reducing the amount of other local output to free up enough people and time to improve these morning shows where the biggest audiences tune in."

Daytime sharing will be tested in Yorkshire across Radio Sheffield, Radio Leeds and Radio York which will have one afternoon show presented by Liz Green from February 2011. At Radio Kent and BBC Sussex and Surrey, the drivetime show will be presented by Dominic King and will start next month on Monday 6 December 2010. The pilots will last for six months." End Quote.

BBC Local stations MUST be local. Their value is to react to the days news both national and local and provide the opportunity for listeners to have their say as local MPs and representatives of councils etc are put on air. To continue that properly over a much larger catchment area is certainly now in question. Local content will become diluted. BBC Local radio is very interactive in its nature and many listeners rely upon it.as point of social contact.

The stations also support local charites and causes..and act as a parish notice board.

We the undersigned, value BBC Local Radio and hope that you continue to respect it and protect it as a valuable part of Our BBC. The role of the BBC at a local level is to provide a public service and networking of local stations will be very damaging .<<<<